Bryce Canyon National Park was another oddity worth seeing that looks like a scene from a fairytale. It’s also a small park but it feels like you are on another planet. Bryce Canyon is famous for its Hoodoos (a derivative of “voodoo” which means to cast a spell) which are pillars of rock in fantastic shapes left behind by erosion. They take on various colors from minerals in the soil, oranges/reds/whites/purples. The towers are constantly being broken down and reshaped by the forces of nature, thunderstorms but primarily the freezing and thawing patterns.
These hoodoos form castle-like formations with its rounded turrets and spires.
It's located at about 8,000 ft. elevation and has 200 days of freezing temperatures a year…brrr.
The Legend of Bryce Canyon: A coyote got mad at the people for doing bad things to the land and in his anger turned them all to stone.
When you stop and look around—it does look like human forms in the formations. Some are single, some are in groups or standing side-by-side—bizarre...
It was mostly sunny and pleasant on our first day for our walk-about. We took a hike along the rim from Inspiration Point to Sunset Point, then zig-zagged down into the heart of the mystic Hoodoo land on the valley floor via the Navajo Loop Trail. It’s a bit unnerving standing on the rim looking down into this jagged valley bottom—thinking it could really hurt if I fell in. But then when you descend into the valley and are amongst the hoodoos, there’s a very different, peaceful and comforting feeling—perhaps the spell was cast.
By sundown, the weather was getting cold and windy. There was one CG open—we would have been snow camping in the park---no thanks. So we treated ourselves to hot showers, TV, and
beds to sprawl out on in a hotel room in town. The next morning we poached a free continental breakfast in the neighboring hotel….what rebels we are ;-)
The next day we hiked the Queen’s Garden Trail down into the valley bottom again. A gentler, descent offering many great views of cool hoodoos, windows and doors formed into the rocks. Trees mangled and contorted in the valley floor. A popular hike in the park, we still didn’t see a bunch of people.
We didn’t linger too long this day because the clouds were rolling in fast and snow was imminent.
We decided to head South into AZ towards the Grand Canyon.
Winter travel has its benefits of little vehicle traffic and we’re allowed to drive your own rig into the park. In the summer, visitors are required to use the shuttle to lessen traffic jams and lessen the impact on the land.
Another awesome place….
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